Shed forming mechanism for looms



Dec. 15, 1931. w THATCHER 1,836,136

SHED FORMING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed May' 8, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1' I g \nvenTor. Hurry W. Thofch er Ah ys. I

Dec. 15, 1931. w THATCHER 1,836,136

SHED FORMING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS y AfTys.

Dec. 15; 1931. H. w. THATCHER 1,836,136

SHED FORMING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed May a, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

Fig.3.

' lnvenfor. Hcm'y \N. ThoTchev WW Mew ArTys.

v HARRY w. THArcrIEm-on fiorrmhiiri, MnssAcrirIs'E'r'rs,nssrenon ro DRAPEB.

. IPQRA'IION, 0E;HOPEDALE, MASSAGHUS-ETTS-AiCORPOItATION or MAlNE v g QG r 'MECHAN :r'srrjrbniiooMs Application filed nay s, 1931. s rial u 535,935.

This invention relatesito shed-hforining tvvelve su oh frarnes. iTheseharness fremes V mechanism for a, 100m ofthatytype in which are here assumed to be lowered in the usual theharness frames are moved'by' a cone and manner.v by" springs, not shown, extending- 5 1n gl11Ch thevCOI1B isoper'ated by ep 'crank "from. the bottomof each harness frame to -mo'on. i

r The objeetiof theinvention is to Provide the raising and lowering 'ofthe frames n 7' 1 a 'oonstruction in this} type of shed forming opposition to these springs is efieotedbylthe Ineohanism 'vjvhioh sheil-l insure thesame" p0si= oonefharness mechanism; r V .tion "for the crossing of the shed at. all tlmes. "LA cone harness mechanism is a useful itype the base of the loom: or its support while i The object oftheinvention is' further to, because itisadapted tothe control ofwla'rge securei nthis type of shedforming me'oha number of harness frames With a very snnnism a oon'struotl'onin;which thecrossingilof pleioperatingmehanisrnsand becausitpro- V the shed shall take plece' at theisarne period vides for the increase in' shed opening res in the cycle of lloonifoperation during the quired =oftheharness frames, frornQfrontgto 7 osclllation of the'oone' iniboth directions. v rear to-correspond-with the divergence oi'lthe Q51 Theseand otherobjects and features of the sheets zof vvarps forming the wshedi fl The invention will appear inorefully frointhe aomain element of this 'mechanisni is usually, J i

.companying description anddratvings and operated by ajcrank'to effect the required .vvill be particularlypointed out in theiolaims. oscillatory movements Such a crankgrnech-j As'the' generalconstructioniand operation zinism ishighly desilalole for thisfpurpose, (Q of thistype ofshed,formingmechanismandbut it essentially involves Jar serious-error 'the ineansfor operating in timed-relation in the movements of the harnessZframesui [In to the other mechanisms of the'loornlare all order that the fillinglmay-be beaten in under, wellknownjalnd familiar 'to 'thoseskilled in precisely- 'fthez sam'econditions-at all times,

and desoribe'sueh portion of aloom and shedr come tothe. saine central-closed shed position iorrning mechanism aslis"neoessary-toedise each time the shedrisl closedand this} closed closure of the present invention. I vposition should correspond with the position 1 In the drawings: of the lay at front center or at the conolu- 1 loom arch, harness frames and connected e1e-. anisin,as heretofore employed,the midposb ments inoluding 'wpreferred form of'inechation of "the harness frameskor-the position nism embodying the inventionforoperaitingj of the closing of 1 the shed? does not v cone 7 v theharness frames i a f V spondwith the mid positions,of'the'crgnk FigQQis e view? on a larger-shale of-the in its-eras of movement ib'etweehithe extreme 35 construction shovvnin Fig; 1 looking at themupper vandlower. positions of-thejframes; or i left-hand side oi; the loom. the extremeopenpositions oi thejshed i V Fig; I 3 a; "vieiv'- in detailiof V a Lco'noidal The present invention, by means-fete novel ggit'heprinciple ofconstruc-, princi 'leof construction andpperat on ey or actuator shown tion'empl'oyedl Y h g A portion offin ordlnery' type of loom'is j retained and-this errorin; the;clos1ng of the shovvncniprising the sidefrarhe-l nd the shed to be eliminated. ;g

tending aoros's the "looini [The iisuellcrank"'tothegusualuooneis not of: a; true coneforrn sheft for"operatingthell'avisindiczttedazit-3.' and isherein:termed aifconoidal,ectuatori,

he shed forming nreohan smi comprises the I In the preferred construction illustrated, this ususl harnessfrarnes; at portion-of one of 'oonoid aliactuator presents two similar see- 'vvhioh is shown "at A numberi: of these 'tions 5 {and 63 syrninetriosilly.'disposed with r V harness frames may -be einployedwndfas respect to the axis of oseillation. flhese sees 9 1 illustrative thereof, provision'zifi 1: th art,"it isionly necessary hereto illustrate 7 it is essential that the harness frames should V Fig. 1 is a front elevation of eportionof a Vsion of thebeat-up; Butwith-zi crank mech- Q Tables thei crank-i opera-ting: meehanism to vhe 99L egrch 2niounted"on"the sideiriamesendezi: ."iiTheeleinent hereemployed "shownifor jtions are- -.each .shown;as eo nposedgoi suits 1 7 rear portions 15 of longitudinally of-the arm 20.

ble material such as metal having respective ly inwardly projecting webs 7 and 8 slotted and adjustably secured by bolts 9 to radial flanges 10 extending from a hub 11 adjustably secured by set screws 12 to the axial shaft This shaft is. journalled in brackets 14 secured to the front and rear portions 15 of the transverse member of the loom arch.

The shaft 13, and consequently with it the conoidal actuator, mechanism; In the'constructionillustrated the crank pin 16 is carried on an elliptical gear 17 journalled at 18 in theside frame and this gear is driven by a cooperatingelliptical gear 19 on the shaft 3, thus giving a variable movement frequently desired in the opening and closing of the shed. An arm 20 1s secured to and extends laterally from the end of the shaft 13. This arm is connected b a pitman 21 to the crank pin 16. Suitable adjustments for lengthening and positioning of the pitman and'suitable universal joint connections at the ends of the pitman are rovided. As illustrated, the pitman at its upper end hasthread'ed thereon abifurcated socket 22 held in place by a lock nut 23. In this socket is ournalled at 24 a link member 25which in turn is journalled on a stud 26 adjustably'mounted in a slot 27 extending At its lower end the pitman isshown as having threaded thereon a similar bifurcated socketmember 28 held in position by a nut 29 and 21V similar link member 30 is journalled in the socket member 28 at 31an'd is in turn journalled on the crank pin 16.

r The several harness frames are operated by suitable flexible connectors extending from the harness frames over suitably positioned idler rollers to' the'conoidal actuator in the usual manner. The connector from each harness frame extends to the one section or the other of the conoidal actuator according to the shed pattern desired, all in a usual and familiar manner. Two sets of idler rolls are shown supported on shafts 32 and 33- mounted in brackets 34 secured to the front and the 100111 archso that these shafts extend parallel with the shaft 13. A series of idler rollers 35 are journalledon these "shafts, one for each harness frame on each shaft.- Atthe end of the arch opposite the conoidal actuator another shaft 36 is iiiouiitedin Machetes? also 's'ecuredto the members 15 and extending parallel with the shafts 13, 32 and 33. This shaft 36 is journalled in bearings 38 mounted to slide transil 'ing sets will be'obvio'us.

versely of the looin'in the brackets 37 and adjusted and held in adjusted position by set screws 39, thus enabling slack to be taken up in the connectors. This s'haft 36 also carries a series of idler rolls 40, one for each harness frame. Two setsof flexible connectors are shown and the arrangements of the 'r'emain- In the first set one is oscillated by a: crank end of the flexible connector 41 extends along the first groove at the front of the section 5 of the conoidal actuator and is secured to the actuator by engagement with a hook 4E2 hooked into the edge of the section 6 of the actuator. This connector extends around the front roll on the shaft 36 and then is divided into two portions, one of which 43 extendsaround the first roll35 on the shaft 32 and; is secured at 44c to-the harness frame 4:, while the-other 45 extends around the first roll 35 on the shaft 33 and is secured at 46 to the harness frame 4. The next following harness frameis connected so as to move oppositely to the frame 4. Consequently its flexiblezconnector 47 extends along the second groove in the section 6 of the conoidal actuator and is secured at its end by a hook 48 to the edge of the section 5. This connector 47 then extends around the second roller 40 011 the shaft 38 and then is divided, passes around rollers 35 on the shafts 32 and 33, and extends at 49 to its harness frame. The several connectors are shown as made in sections hooked or otherwise secured together and may be of any usual or. desired construction.

The taper of the conoidal actuator is arranged -as usual so that theseveral harness frames shall be raised and loweredthereby an increasing amount beginning at the front of the loom to cause the frames when in open shed position to correspond with the slope of the warp sheets.

It will be seen that the shed will be open and the several frames in their highest or lowest. positions when the crank pin 16 is in either its uppermost or its lowermost position and consequently the arm 20 isin its uppermost or lowermost position. 'But owing to the inherent character of a crank motion, it willbe seen that the mid positions of the arm 20 will not correspond with the mid positions in its arcs of movement of the crank pin 30 and consequently the shed will be closed at different periods in the cycle of the loom operation.

In this invention this error in the operation of theshed forming mechanism is corrected to cause the shed to close always at the same period in the cycle of the loom operation and when the crank pin is at each of its mid positions. For this purposethe curvature of the several grooves in the conoidal actuator along which the flexible-connectors rest are shaped so that when the crank pin moves 90 in either direction from its mid position, that is, through half ofthe arc of movement between its'extreme upper and lower positions, equal amounts of each connector are wound upon or unwound from the actuator, thus giving equalamounts of movementto the several harness frames for each 90 of movement of the crank pm. This is most readily accomplished by laying off the curvature of the several zonal :grooves in the sections-of the a a 1 to the extent required to effect the result.

, it is not necessary to have separate centers-V for thevgrooves 51 and 52 theradii from conoidal actuator graphically} 'During the periods the crank pin is movlngbetween its mid positions and its uppermost position, the conoidal actuator will move through a greater are than during theperiods when the crank pin is moving between its mid positions and its lowermost position, and consequently to allow the same length. of connector to be wound or unwound in both cases, theradius of curvature of the grooves mustibevaried Fig. 3 illustrates diagrammatically a" layout for the conoidal actuator. The axis of rotation of'the actuator is at 50. The upper half of the figure is shown ofiset to the left of the lower'half for convenience in making a large scale drawing," but'it is to be understood, of course, that represents the 'common axis of. the haft'13, also shown in two offset sections. Laying out the curvature of the grooves 51 to 62 so that the radius of curvature with respect to the axis 50 increases 7 the left to the rightin the section 5, and correspondingly froln ithe right to :the, left in the section 6, so as to give an equal amount of winding 'or unwinding movement r of the connectors durin for each curve; For example,i t is found that thereof may have a'common center 63, for the grooves 53 and 54 a common center 64, for the grooves 55 and 56 a common center65, for'the grooves 57, 58 and 59 a common center 66, and for the grooves 60,61 and 62 a common center 67, with a similar arrangement for the opposite section 6. The exceedingly close approximation obtained by the use of grooves formed on circular arcs and havingthe centers ar'-' ranged as described enables the sections of the conoidal actuator readily to be constructed mechanically and reduces the cost of manufacture.v Each sectionof ther rrconoidalactuator is thus formed ontlie sameprinciple and] each is preferably of preciselythe same construction so that the sections'are interchan eable. It will be seen that referring the are 0'? curvature of'each groove with respect to;-the axis of oscillation-the radii progressively increase 7 from one edge ofthe section 'to'theother to a secure the desired result; Itwillalso be seen T that witha circular arc of curvature of each groove that'the centers of'these circular arcs are all located at the same side of' the axis of oscillationand at varying degrees of ec:

5 'centricity and with thecenter of; each arc' the 90 of movement 'ne'ctor toxbefwound' upon gor of each groove no nearer the axis than, the centero'fthe arc OfrtllG. next adj acent; groove" utoward thesmaller end of thezsection.

flflhere is thus produced avery. 'simple-con-l struction ofactuator for-the ordinary type ofcone harness mechanism which eliminates very :useful mechanism and enables itsadapthe inaccuracy heretofore inherent in this tation with accuracy to anynumber-ofharness frames and insures the by; the bringing ot alljthe harness frames to the samecentral closed shed position when closing of the shed I the crank is ineither mid position and con- 7 sequentlyin propertimed relation to the cycle of loom-operation. a r f l 1 Having ithusdescribed'the invention, what isfclairned as. new, and by Letters Patent-,is: i l 1; Shed forming mechanism a for looms comprising a' plurality ofharness frames, a. conoidalwactuatorc having parallel rzonal desired to be securedgrooves, a crank and connections therefrom t'o'the actuator for oscillating the actuator on its axis with each revolution of thecrank, anda flexible connectors :extendmg from each harness frame along corresponding grooves of the actuator ands'ecuredthereto in which the radii of each of said grooves wi-threspect to theaxis ofosc1llation p rogress'ively ne crease in length throughoutlthe arc ofcoscil lationtocause .equallamounts, ofeachfcom a unwo nd from 3 e the actuator as the crank moves; from; .01

to'its ;mid' positions, thereby to bring allithe harness frames to the same central closed :shed position when the crank is in eithermidpm; V V

noidalactnator havingparallel zonal grooves, a crank and connections therefrom; to the actuator f-or oscillating the actuator as axis with-each revolution of the crank, and

flexible connectors extending from each harnes'sframe along corresponding grooves of,

i r 2'. Shed forming mechanism forilooms com c prlslng a. plurallty ofli'arness frames, acothe actuator and secured thereto in which each-of aid groovesislformed ona circular arc-having its center located eccentmcjhe ax s of osc1llat1on-and ts radius, proportioned-to cause equal amounts of (each connector, to bewound upon or unwound from p the actuator as the crank moves 90 from OlstO 'itsfmid positions, the harness frames ,tothe same central closed shedlpositionwhen the;crank is in either mid 'Positionmm,

thereby to bringr-all as. arnering ;aeaaisa1;ia ideas a comprisinga plurality of harness-frames,

a; j conoidal actuator" presentingr two i similar section's symmetricallyxdisposed .with:respect' to it'saxis=with"each section having parallel zonal grooves, acrank and connections therefrom to the actuatorfor oscillatlng the a'ctuator on its axis with each revolution of the crank,' and flexible connectors extending 513 from eachharness frame along corresponding'grooves of one or: the other of'thesections of the actuator and secured thereto and in which the radii of each of said grooves with respect to the axis of oscillation progressively increase in length throughout the arc of oscillation to cause equal'amounts of each connector to be wound upon or unwound from the actuator as the crank moves 90 from or to its mid positions, thereby to bring all the harness frames to the same central closed shed position when the crank is in either mid position.

4. Shed forming mechanism for looms comprising a plurality of harness frames, a conoidal actuator presenting two similar sections" symmetrically disposed with respect to its axis with each section having parallel zonal grooves, a crank and connections therefrom to the actuator for oscillating the actuator on its axis with each revolution of'the crank, and flexibleconnectorsextending from each harness frame along corresponding grooves of one or the other of the sections of the actuator and secured thereto in which each of said grooves is formed on a circular are having itscenter located eccentric the axis'of oscillation and its radius proportioned to cause equal amounts of'each connector to be wound upon or unwound from the actuator as the crank moves 90 from or to its mid'positions, thereby to bring all the harness frames to the same central closed shed position when the crank is in either midposition. V

5. An oscillatory actuator section for a loom shed forming mechanism having a conoidal surface provided with parallel zonal grooves to receive flexible connectors from the harness frames in which each of said grooves lies on a curve, the radii of which with respect to the axis of oscillation progressively increase from one edge of the section to the other.

6. An oscillatory actuator section for a loom shed forming mechanism having aconoidal surface provided with parallel zonal grooves to receive flexible connectors from the harness frames in which each of said grooves lies on a circular are having its cen ter' eccentric the axis of oscillation ofthe actuator section with the said centers l'ocated at the same side of the axis of oscillation and at varying distances therefrom and with the center-ofeach are no nearer the said axis than the center of the arc of the next adjacent groove toward the smaller end of the section.

In testimony whereof, I-have signed n1y name'to this specification. HARRY W. THATCHER. 

